Christopher Nuttall - Barbarians at the Gates

The superdreadnaught rocked again as another missile slammed through her shields. A second later, a dull thud echoed through the ship, a harbinger of doom. Caitlin didn’t need the brief report from damage control to know that they’d just lost one of the drive compartments. The superdreadnaught could no longer accelerate to her full speed, which left her helplessly trapped within enemy missile range. It wouldn’t be long before the enemy fleet blew the cripple into plasma, or attempted to force her to surrender.

And Admiral Justinian could not be allowed to fall into enemy hands.

“Admiral,” she said, checking her console, “the Apollo is within range for a transfer…”

“I’m going to die with my ship,” the admiral said firmly. “I will not leave her.”

“Admiral, you are the face of the movement,” Caitlin said sharply. “If you die here, the cause ends. You have to survive. Once you leave this ship, the remaining cripples can surrender in good conscience while the intact ships escape to the mass limit and vanish.”

Her logic was impeccable, but Admiral Justinian continued to hesitate.

Caitlin couldn’t wait any longer. Hoping he’d forgive her for this someday, she drew her stunner from her belt and stunned him before he could object. He’d be furious when he awoke, perhaps even order her execution, but at least he’d be alive.

And the cause wouldn’t die with him.

“Take him down to the shuttlebay and order them to transfer him to the Apollo ,” she ordered the admiral’s personal guards curtly. Surprisingly, they didn’t shoot her; they simply nodded as one, then grabbed the admiral and got him out of there.

Caitlin sat down in the command chair with her stunner on her lap and watched the battle. Nearly half of the remaining ships were too badly crippled to hope of escape, even if the enemy stopped firing and let them go. And that wasn’t going to happen.

Her console buzzed.

“This is Shuttlebay One,” Lieutenant Gomez said. “The admiral is on his way.”

Caitlin watched the tiny shuttle as it fled towards the Apollo , praying that no marauding starfighter would intercept and destroy the shuttle. They were in luck. The battlecruiser picked up the shuttle, then turned to flee.

Godspeed, admiral, she thought. And pull a rabbit out of your hat once you get to Harmony. You’re going to need it.

Caitlin keyed her console and started to issue orders, all in the admiral’s name. The intact ships were to go to full military power and attempt to escape, while the cripples would cover them as long as possible before surrendering.

And then a second direct hit on her ship took out the remaining drive units, leaving the ship a drifting wreck. She watched the tactical display, eyes fixed on the Apollo, silently urging it to escape the system. Once she saw it safely beyond the mass limit, she turned to her communications officer.

“Raise the Federation Admiral. Inform him that we would like to surrender.”

Lombardi/Harmony System, 4097

Captain Caitlin Bowery was a very small woman, Marius thought, as she was escorted into his presence by two hulking Marine guards. Indeed, she looked almost child-like, although that meant nothing in a universe where people could alter themselves to fit any desired form. There was no mistaking the intelligence and determination in her eyes, however, nor the trepidation in her body language. The Marines hadn’t cuffed her, but she obviously knew she was a prisoner.

“Welcome aboard,” Marius said. He’d invited Vaughn and Tiffany to the meeting, while Williams had insisted on coming along. “I am sorry that we must meet under such circumstances.”

“So am I,” Caitlin said. She had a rich, warm voice that reminded him, just a little, of his sister. He felt an odd surge of warmth towards her. “Please allow me to congratulate you on your victory.”

He heard the bitterness in her tone and nodded.

“I understand from your crew”—of course, Vaughn’s Marines had interrogated the superdreadnaught’s bridge crew—”that Admiral Justinian made his escape, with a little help from you. You’ll be pleased to know that his battlecruiser and a number of other ships made it over the mass limit and vanished.”

“I made sure he’d get away,” Caitlin said. Her voice hardened. “What—exactly—are you going to do with my crews?”

Marius frowned. It was clear that she believed that her life was already lost to her. Why?

“We won’t do anything to the vast majority of your crewmen,” he said. He was tempted to point out that they were, in fact, Admiral Justinian’s crewmen, but decided that would be pointless. “They will be held until the end of the war, then most of them can be discharged from the service. There would be little point in prosecuting them. As Admiral Justinian refrained from war crimes, or acts forbidden by the Articles of War…”

“Apart from mutiny and barratry, of course,” Caitlin pointed out sourly.

“I believe that there is little point in holding them for trial by a war crimes tribunal,” Marius concluded, ignoring the interruption. “They will be required to give a full account of their service under Admiral Justinian. If we discover that they have lied to us, we may reopen the question of their future standing, but I do not think they will be exiled.”

He looked into her quiet brown eyes, wondering what she was thinking. “As for you, I would like you to perform a service for us. If you carry out our request, you will be granted exile or, better yet, a full pardon.”

Caitlin made a show of studying his face.

“And what if I believe that you don’t have the authority to make such an offer?”

“I have a document from the Senate granting me wide leeway in dealing with prisoners,” he said with a smile. “I can certainly recommend that they pardon you, but I can certainly offer internal exile as opposed to immediate execution. I can show you the document if you like…”

“No, thank you,” Caitlin said. She hesitated. “What do you want me to do?”

Marius keyed his console. A star chart shimmered into existence.

“Admiral Justinian and his remaining ships have fled to Harmony, we believe,” he said. He watched her closely, but she had her expression under tight control. Doctor Dunwoody had confirmed that she had security implants that would probably kill her if she was interrogated under truth drugs or torture. She’d probably been given them when she had become Admiral Justinian’s flag captain. “We want to put an end to this as quickly as possible…”

“You want me to talk him into surrendering,” Caitlin corrected flatly. “What makes you think he will listen to the person who booted him off his own ship?”

“Let me put it like this,” Marius said. “The Senate wants this to end quickly. If we can convince Justinian to surrender, the war will be over and normal trade can resume. We could take out Harmony and end the war that way, but that would cause thousands of additional, unnecessary deaths. I am empowered to make Justinian the same offer as I made you; if he surrenders, he will receive exile instead of death—and hundreds of thousands of people will live.”